The Komaneka, Bisma, has to be the best hotel we stayed at in Bali. It was modern, contemporary, peaceful, classy, artistic, and detailed in many things that is setup in the hotel. (There is also an Apple TV pre-loaded with stuff to watch and listen.) Unexpectedly, they also had many activities that are provided FOC within the hotel compound and we were slightly overwhelmed by what to do in Ubud.
Anyway, after spending an hour checking out our room, finally decided to head out in search of food.
1st stop was at Murni’s Warung, just at the end of the bridge into Ubud Center. They served local food which was affordable and good. The Nasi Campur and Gado gado was good and lived up to expectations. Then we decided to walk around the town for a little while. The HEAT was very much on and we did not last too long, after roaming around the town for about an hour, we made our way back to Komaneka to rest before we headed out for dinner.
Dinner was at a restaurant, Swept Away (TripAdvisor link), at The Samaya Resort & Spa, all across the other side of town. We got a drive to drive us back and forth for about IDR 70K. The place was beautiful, overlooking the river bend. The food was excellent too. The chef was great at blending the texture of the food. the Wagyu beef was delicious, though a tad small in portions. Yum!!! After dinner, we had a great laugh with the very cute survey form – “Give the chef a pay raise” was one of the options for food quality. Now that is creativity
Day 2 in Ubud, we had our good breakfast in the resort before heading out to walk around. Lunch stop was at Bebek Bengil (The original dirty duck since 1995). Food again was great! The duck was crisp and full of flavour. Apparently, the duck was seasoned, steamed and then deep fried. The Gado gado was also delicious, with a very good peanut sauce complementing the plate of vegetables and tofu.
Then we went to Monkey Forest, though dear Fionna was not too excited about going … recalling Zilin’s encounter with Monkey’s in Bali a year ago. (Zilin had her Gucci sunglasses snatched by a monkey and chewed upon before eventually getting it back from the offensive monkey. Well, we did not stay too long in the forest.
Dinner that night was at the famous Moziac, a french chef who opened a restaurant 10 years ago. They serve set menu with a choice of local infused cuisine, french cuisine, or a surprise me menu (serving whatever the chef conjure up). Food was great, though it was too filling. I extremely loved the bread – the olive bread and the black rice bread!!! Yummy!!!
Day 3 – Relax with a SPA at Komaneka … We had booked a 2.5 hour, massage, scrub and bath treatment at the resort. After breakfast, we headed done for our indulgence. The massage was with a lovely Ylang Ylang scent, the scrub was with a local spice mixture and it ended off in a bath of local spices. (Edwin’s soup) It was relaxing bliss!
In the evening, we went to watch a local performance – Legong dance – it was said that the dance was only for the eyes of the emperor. It was very acoustic and repetitive with movements that were similar to Thai dancing. 15 mins into the dance, I was getting lost with what was happening as there was no “subtitles” and they did not follow the story line in the programme. One of the most memorable dance was by the boy who waved his flag and played acoustic instrument. He had very good facial expression, emphasizing the movements of his eyes and lips. Brilliant.
After the performance, we headed off to our dinner venue – Bridges. It was opposite the bridge and a pretty, very british place. The food was good. Appetizers were good, but our mains were not exciting … did not quite like the crusted chicken. The boss was a Canadian who lived in bali for over 18 years. He was the only one over our entire trip there for a Honeymoon to really offer us something because we were on a honeymoon. A simple dessert which tasted very delicious!
Finally, it was the last day of our trip. We headed to the market early in the morning, to buy souvenirs and fruits (passion fruit, all 3.5 kg of it!!!) and headed back to the resort to pack up. Lunch was at Bebek Begil to eat our favourite Duck and Gado gado again. Then it was a 1.5 hour ride back to Denpasar to take our flight back to Singapore.
It was a great honeymoon, especially with the love of my life, Fionna Lee. Her companionship throughout the trip was most enjoyable and we definitely enjoyed ourselves. Bali, we will be back!!!